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2012 News Archives
December 20, 2012
The January 2013 issue of Scientific American reported on the work of D. Kacy Cullen, PhD and Douglas H. Smith, MD using stretch-grown axons in hopes of someday connecting prosthetic devices to the peripheral nervous systems of people who have had part of their arm amputated.
Click for article
December 20, 2012
Anthony Rostain, MD, professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, was interviewed in a 6ABC report about mental illness in the U.S. and our need as a nation for a better way to recognize and treat mental illness early.
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December 20, 2012
Steven Berkowitz, MD, director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, spoke with WHYY Radio about helping first-responders in a crisis.
Click article
December 20, 2012
C. Neill Epperson, MD and Delane Casiano, MD spoke with WHYY about the integration of mental and physical health care as called for in the Affordable Care Act.
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December 19, 2012
Steven Berkowitz, MD, director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, outlines some strategies for helping children and teens process their feelings in the aftermath of the Connecticut school tragedy.
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December 18, 2012
In continuing coverage, Steven Berkowitz, MD, director, Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, spoke with WHYY’s “Radio Times” and FOX 29 about the psychological ramifications of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting.
Click for segment - WHYY
Click for segment - Fox29
December 17, 2012
Research, led by R. Christopher Pierce, PhD, associate professor of Neuroscience in Psychiatry, reveals that cocaine addiction resistance may be passed down from father to son. The research was covered by The Scientist, the Daily Mail and PsychCentral.
Click for article
Click for press release
December 17, 2012
Steven Berkowitz, MD, director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, was interviewed by the Huffington Post about the psychological effects of the Connecticut shooting. He also spoke with 6ABC about how parents can help their children cope with the tragedy.
Click for article
December 14, 2012
Charles O'Brien, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Studies of Addiction, expresses his concern in a TIME Magazine report about a controversial surgery for addiction, which aims to destroy parts of the brain’s “pleasure centers” in heroin addicts and alcoholics.
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December 12, 2012
Melissa Gartenberg Livney, PsyD, clinical psychologist with the Penn Memory Center, was interviewed in an NBC Nightly News report about caregivers who neglect their own health in order to look after others with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
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December 5, 2012
Giving medical interns "protected" sleep periods when they're working long shifts is feasible and helps boost their mental alertness, a new Penn Medicine study finds. This research by David F. Dinges, PhD and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center was covered by US News & World Report, the NPR “Shots” blog, MedPage Today and local ABC television stations across the country.
Click for press release
December 4, 2012
The Wall Street Journal highlighted research from the lab of Virginia Lee, PhD, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, which shows that Alzheimer's and other major neurodegenerative conditions may be linked to deformed proteins.
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December 4, 2012
Mahendra Bhati, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry, spoke with American Public Media's "Marketplace" about hoarding, which is now considered its own condition, not a type of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
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December 4, 2012
Edna Foa, PhD, director, Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, who developed a widely used treatment for PTSD called prolonged exposure therapy, or PE, was interviewed by CNN.com about the use of MDMA to help treat patients with PTSD.
Click for article
November 30, 2012
Matthew Stern, MD, professor of Neurology and director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, was quoted in a HealthDay article discussing depression as a determinant of the health status of people with Parkinson's disease.
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November 30, 2012
M. Sean Grady, MD, chair and professor of Neurosurgery, spoke with 6ABC about concussion recovery and the IMPACT test. Douglas Smith, MD, professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair, also spoke about the impact of concussions in a CBS3 report.
Click for clip - 6ABC
November 28, 2012
Steven Arnold, MD, professor of Neurology and Psychiatry and director of the Penn Memory Center, speaks with HuffPost Live for a segment on the fear of Alzheimer's disease, as a new study shows that it is the disease that Americans fear the most.
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November 27, 2012
Falk Lohoff, MD, assistant professor of Psychiatry, commented in a WHYY story about the use of genetic testing to help predict better treatment response for anti-depressants.
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November 16, 2012
Perelman School of Medicine researchers,
led by Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD, MBA, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Kelvin C. Luk, PhD, research assistant professor in the CNDR,
have discovered important steps in how Parkinson’s disease (PD) spreads from cell to cell and leads to nerve cell death.
Click for press release
Click for article
November 15, 2012
Gerard Schellenberg, PhD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and an Alzheimer’s researcher commented in a New York Times article about research which found that Alzheimer's disease may be tied to a mutation harming immune response.
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November 15, 2012
Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD, MBA, and John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD, both professors of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have received the John Scott Award and $12,000 for their contribution to research in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Click for press release
November 6, 2012
David Yusko, PhD, assistant clinical director at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, commented in a Reuters report about stress that can be caused by hurricanes.
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October 31, 2012
Mahendra Bhati, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry, discusses the facts about seasonal affective disorders (SAD) on PHL17's "Eye Opener."
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October 26, 2012
Caryn Lerman, PhD and Joseph Kable, PhD of SAS were awarded a $4.9 million grant through the National Cancer Institute, which will allow them to study how the brain’s cognitive control system can be enhanced to improve decision-making processes that contribute to risky behaviors.
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October 26, 2012
A HealthDay article appearing on the U.S. News & World Report website reports on research by Max Kelz, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, and colleagues, which found that the same neurons are at work in sleep and under anesthesia.
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October 22, 2012
Douglas Smith, MD spoke about the importance of a remove-from-play protocol in youth sports and the need to have a diagnostic test that can be administered by coaches and administrators who lack extensive medical training in a Crain's Chicago Business report.
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October 18, 2012
Hengyi Rao, PhD, research assistant professor of Cognitive Neuroimaging in Neurology and Psychiatry, presented study results at the Neuroscience 2012 conference involving sleep deprivation, reports CNN.com.
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October 18, 2012
New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Richard Doty, PhD, director of the Smell and Taste Center, has revealed an association between an impaired sense of smell and myasthenia gravis (MG), a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by fluctuating fatigue and muscle weakness.
Click for press release
October 17, 2012
M. Sean Grady, MD is quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article profiling Penn Neurosurgery patient and traumatic injury survivor Candace Gantt. On Saturday, seven years and three months after her accident, Gantt, 55, will compete in the Beach2Battleship Ironman in Wilmington, N.C.
Click for article
Click for Penn Medicine blog
October 16, 2012
The Daily Pennsylvanian discusses the new documentary, Head Games, noting that scientific research behind the causes and long-term effects of concussions is still in the infancy stage. Douglas Smith, MD and others in the
Perelman School of Medicine
were involved in the documentary.
Click for article
October 16, 2012
Virginia Lee, PhD and John Trojanowski, MD, PhD discuss the need for drug discovery to combat the “natural disaster of our millennium,” neurodegenerative disease.
Click for article
October 16, 2012
J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, associate professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry, commented in a Reuters Health report on a new study that found children with ADHD symptoms tend to fare worse as adults than do kids without problems in school.
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October 12, 2012
Martin Franklin, PhD, associate professor of Clinical Psychology and director, Child/Adolescent OCD, Tics, Trichotillomania and Anxiety Group (COTTAGe), spoke about treatment for trichotillomania in an ABC News article.
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October 5, 2012
Researchers have found a way to create a map of vision in the brain based on an individual's brain structure, even for people who can't see, reports HealthDay News Syndicate. This achievement could assist efforts to restore vision using a device that stimulates the surface of the brain, according to the University of Pennsylvania researchers, including Geoffrey Aguirre, MD, PhD.
Click for press release
October 2, 2012
Philip Gehrman, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, spoke with CNN.com about parasomnias, including sleepwalking and REM behavior disorder.
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October 2, 2012
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Penn researchers have received a $3.7 million grant to study how traumatic events in childhood interact with hormonal changes to affect women's mood disorders. The grant will be used to create the Center for the Study of Sex and Gender in Behavioral Health. It will be led by C. Neill Epperson, MD, director, Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness, and Tracy L. Bale, PhD, professor of Psychiatry.
Click for article
October 2, 2012
Murray Grossman, MD, EdD, professor of Neurology and director of Penn's FTD Center, was mentioned in a WHYY Newsworks segment about
Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).
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October 2, 2012
Richard Doty, PhD, director, Smell and Taste Center, talked with Science News for Kids about the link between a declining sense of smell and the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
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September 28, 2012
WHYY Radio interviewed David F. Dinges, PhD, chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, about sleep and shift work.
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September 26, 2012
Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, the Austin Lamont Professor of Anesthesia, spoke with Outpatient Surgery magazine about
post-operative cognitive decline.
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Click for press release
September 24, 2012
Murray Grossman, MD, professor of Neurology, is interviewed in a Philadelphia Inquirer story that investigates the aging brain, discussing ways that diminished executive function impacts older adults.
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September 24, 2012
In a report about sleep, the New York Times mentions research led by David F. Dinges, PhD, chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, which found that letting subjects nap for as little as 24 minutes improved their cognitive performance.
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September 21, 2012
The federal government intends to allocate $100 million to study the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, reports WHYY. Edna Foa, PhD and colleagues from the Center for the Treatment of Anxiety, have applied for a chunk of the funding from the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs, to study the best ways to teach mental health counselors to use prolonged-exposure therapy.
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September 21, 2012
In a report about brain injuries and football, Reuters mentions a 2011 study by Penn Medicine researchers, which found that survivors of a single traumatic brain injury in young adults can show changes in their brains years later, possibly leading to neurodegenerative disease similar to Alzheimer's.
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September 19, 2012
The NFL is giving unprecedented attention to players’ health issues, KYW Radio reports. The League gave the National Institutes of Health $30 million for research on injuries associated with football, like the study that Penn Medicine researchers are conducting on the aftermath of concussions.
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September 18, 2012
Alcohol and prescription drug abuse has increased among active members of the military over the course of the past few years, according to a new report released on Monday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Charles O'Brien, MD, PhD was the chair of the IOM committee that wrote the report.
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September 14, 2012
Penn Medicine researchers, led by Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, Austin Lamont Professor of Anesthesia, reported that surgery has a more profound effect than anesthesia on brain pathology and cognition in Alzheimer's animal model.
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September 12, 2012
Ted Abel and Joshua Hawk have identified molecules that convert short-term memories into long-term, which may lead to drugs for treating cognitive defects.
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September 10, 2012
Medscape reports that a group of leading experts in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have released a new consensus document containing a list of prioritized goals as well as treatment and policy recommendations for the disorder. This "strategic roadmap" came out of a recent summit meeting stemming from the Marian S. Ware Alzheimer Program at Penn.
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September 5, 2012
AlzForum summarized the findings from a recent Journal of Neuroscience paper, led by Alice Chen-Plotkin, MD, which describes frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 pathology (FTLD-TDP) genetic risk factors.
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September 4, 2012
Charles O'Brien, MD, director of the Center for Studies of Addiction explained that "addiction changes the brain," in a Philadelphia Inquirer report about addiction treatment.
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September 4, 2012
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine will receive $11.9 million over the next five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for the Penn Udall Center for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) research.
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August 30, 2012
The Pennsylvania Gazette examines pioneering work on mental health conducted by Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father and 18th-century Penn faculty member.
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August 28, 2012
Steven Berkowitz, MD, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry, commented in a Philadelphia Magazine report about the prominence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Philadelphia's poorest neighborhoods as a result of the gun crisis.
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August 25, 2012
6ABC reports that Aaron T. Beck, MD, emeritus professor, Department of Psychiatry, was awarded the Prince Mahidol Award for "exemplary contributions in the field of medicine." The award is bestowed by the Thai Royal Family for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide.
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August 22, 2012
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the National Assembly of Ecuador gave Donald Silberberg, MD, an emeritus professor of Neurology and former chair of Neurology, its highest scientific award, the first such honor for an American. The Vicente Rocafuerte medal was given in recognition of Silberberg's efforts over two decades to enhance medical education and improve patient care for neurological and psychiatric conditions in Ecuador as well as around the world.
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August 22, 2012
Two Penn Medicine hospitals have received Primary Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission for efforts to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients. All three Penn Medicine hospitals are now certified to optimally treat stroke patients, making
Penn Medicine the first Philadelphia health system to get certification for stroke care at all member hospitals.
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August 21, 2012
The New York Times quoted Michael Grandner, PhD, research associate, Center for Sleep and Neurobiology, in an article discussing the impact race or ethnicity may have on sleep.
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August 8, 2012
Kyle Kampman, MD, medical director at the Charles O'Brien Center for Addiction Treatment, spoke about the prescription-opiate epidemic in a Philadelphia Daily News article.
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August 6, 2012
In an article on CNN.com, Charles O'Brien, MD, PhD, vice chair and professor of Psychiatry and director of the Charles O’Brien Center for Addiction Treatment, answers questions about “gaming addiction.”
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July 25, 2012
James Coyne, PhD was quoted in a Reuters article about a new study suggesting that women with ovarian cancer may have somewhat better survival odds when they feel emotionally supported by family and friends.
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July 23, 2012
In the wake of the shootings in Colorado, David Yusko, Psy.D, clinical director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety spoke with NBCNews.com about how the event may impact children.
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July 20, 2012
Penn Medicine research presented at the 2012 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) shows that an anti-tau treatment called epithilone D (EpoD) was effective in preventing and intervening the progress of Alzheimer's disease in animal models.
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July 19, 2012
CBS3 reports on one of three antibody treatments for Alzheimer's disease, presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. The results of a small phase 2 extension trial determined that the drug, Gammaguard (IVIg) was able to slow disease progression. The story notes that a larger Phase 3 is underway, with a trial site at the Penn Memory Center.
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July 12, 2012
Steven Arnold, MD, director of the Penn Memory Center and professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, tells ABCNews.com that a new study of people with Familial Alzheimer's disease shows that "you can detect differences in the brain...25 years before they actually are predicted to have symptoms."
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July 9, 2012
In an interview with NPR affiliate WHYY Radio, Anthony Rostain, MD, professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics and medical director of Adult Developmental Disorders, talked about self-care tools for ADHD.
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July 5, 2012
Charles Cantor, MD, associate professor of Neurology and medical director at the Penn Sleep Centers, commented in a Huffington Post article discussing
REM sleep behavior disorder, a rare but serious problem that has been linked to Parkinson's disease and dementia.
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July 2, 2012
An article in Philadelphia Magazine highlights research by Adriane Raine, PhD, professor of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, into the psychological and neurological underpinnings of criminal behavior.
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June 26, 2012
J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, associate professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, told Reuters Health that kids' trouble in school is usually one of the top reasons parents seek help for their ADHD.
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June 26, 2012
Steven F. Huege, MD, assistant professor of Geriatric Psychiatry spoke in an ABCNews.com report about strategically located brain tumors and migraines that lead to aphasia, which is an impairment of language ability marked by a difficulty in getting words out.
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June 26, 2012
The University of Pennsylvania's medical and nursing schools hosted a conference that asked 50 national and international dementia experts, including John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, to set priorities for future Alzheimer's disease research and treatment, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Click for article
June 22, 2012
Jason Karlawish, MD was quoted in a WHYY radio report discussing
key issues in coping with the likely increase of Alzheimer's cases as America's population ages, including ethics in diagnostics and
the lack of health-care professionals who are trained to provide care for older adults with dementia and multiple medical issues.
Click for article
June 18, 2012
Philip Gehrman, PhD, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry spoke with the Huffington Post about a new kind of sleeping pill, called suvorexant, that was shown to be effective at helping people fall -- and stay -- asleep in clinical trials.
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June 16, 2012
Frances E. Jensen, MD, has been named Chair of the Department of Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
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June 16, 2012
In a first of its kind study in the U.S., researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, led by Andrew A. Strasser, PhD, have shown that the addition of graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging can improve smokers' recall of the warning and health risks associated with smoking.
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Click for article
June 12, 2012
In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Philip Gehrman, PhD, CBSM, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry, helped describe the importance of a new study linking lack of sleep and stroke in people of healthy weight.
Click for article
June 12, 2012
The Pittsburgh Business Times spoke with Doug Smith, MD about the connection between repeated concussions sustained in contact sports and long-term emotional problems such as depression and even suicide. Dr. Smith also commented on a
Huffington Post report about the effect contact sports can have on college athletes' ability to learn.
Click for article - Pittsburgh Business Times
Click for article - Huffington Post
June 12, 2012
H. Branch Coslett, MD, interim chair and professor of Neurology, spoke with Men's Health about normal memory loss.
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June 12, 2012
Michael Grandner, PhD, research associate, Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, was interviewed by the Huffington Post about
new research investigating why sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain.
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June 4, 2012
Doug Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at Penn, spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer in an article about a new documentary film focusing on brain injury.
Click for article
May 30, 2012
C. Neill Epperson, MD, director, Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness, was interviewed by NPR affiliate WHYY in a segment discussing
premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a condition that may be included in the upcoming new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Click for article
May 29, 2012
A new study, led by Neurosurgery resident Robert Whitmore, MD, examines the cost-effectiveness of aggressive treatments for severe brain injury -- a device monitoring pressure inside the brain (intracranial monitoring), and removing parts of the skull to allow the brain to swell out (decompressive craniotomies) to reduce pressure.
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May 25, 2012
Raquel Gur, MD, PhD, professor of Psychiatry, told the Philadelphia Inquirer only a minority of people with schizophrenia have a propensity to violence.
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May 25, 2012
Doug Smith, MD spoke with the Washington Post about a study reporting that soldiers exposed to roadside bomb blasts and athletes who have suffered repeated concussions show the same long-lasting changes to brain cells.
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May 17, 2012
John Q. Trojanowski, MD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of Penn's Institute on Aging and NIH-funded Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, talks to ABCNews.com about the recent history of Alzheimer's disease research and our increased understanding of the science behind the disease.
Click for article
May 17, 2012
Melissa Livney, PsyD, a therapist at Penn's Memory Center, spoke with NPR affiliate WHYY Radio about the effect personality has on aging.
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May 15, 2012
The lab of Amita Sehgal, PhD, professor of Neuroscience and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, discovered a mechanism involving the neurotransmitter dopamine that switches fruit fly behavior from being active during the day (diurnal) to nocturnal, a change that parallels
sundown syndrome found in older people with dementia or cognitive impairment.
Click for press release
May 14, 2012
CBS 3 reports that researchers at Penn Medicine, led by C. Neill Epperson, MD, director of the Penn Center for Women's Behavioral, are testing a medication commonly used to treat ADHD for menopausal women struggling with memory and focus."
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May 11, 2012
David Mandell, ScD, associate director of the Center for Mental Health Policy & Services at Penn, spoke with NPR’s Marketplace about the impact proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual may have on services available to those diagnosed with autism.
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May 9, 2012
Charles O'Brien, MD, PhD, vice chair, Department of Psychiatry, discussed misconceptions about addiction with WHYY radio in an article regarding a recent
theatrical performance exploring issues around addiction.
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May 7, 2012
Maarten Titulaer, MD, PhD, clinical research fellow in Neuro-oncology and Immunology, spoke about a condition known as anti-NMDA encephalitis at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting, according to Medpage Today.
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May 4, 2012
Mahendra Bhati, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry, was interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the American Psychiatric Association’s overhaul of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the guidebook to mental maladies and a key factor in determining insurance payments.
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May 3, 2012
Yet another amyloid tracing agent is showing promise as a diagnostic tool in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to new studies including a 4-site biopsy study using flutemetamol, led by David Wolk, MD, assistant professor of Neurology.
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May 3, 2012
Doug Smith, MD, professor of Neurosurgery, spoke with Philly.com about brain injuries, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and suicide.
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May 1, 2012
In this year’s Philadelphia magazine Top Doctors issue, Penn Medicine again has the most Top Docs of any hospital or health system in the region, with a total of 193 Penn Medicine physicians on the 2012 Top Doctors list.
The magazine also highlights several different research initiatives and programs from Penn Medicine, including work by Karl Rickels, MD and David Wolk, MD.
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April 27, 2012
NBC 10 reports on a breakthrough pilot study by the Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness. Deborah Kim, MD, assistant professor of Psychiatry, is treating depressed moms-to-be with TMS -- transcranial magnetic stimulation.
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April 25, 2012
In an installment of a series on aging in the Delaware Valley called "Gray Matters: New Tools for Growing Older" from the WHYY Health and Science Desk, Steven Arnold, MD says he tells his patients, "What's good for your heart is good for your head." Arnold, who heads the Penn Memory Center, says a healthy diet and physical exercise are crucial for healthy brains.
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April 25, 2012
In a recent Journal of Neuroscience paper, the lab of Olivier Berton, PhD, assistant professor of Psychiatry, shows how a regulator of glucocorticoid receptors may provide a path towards resilience to stress by modulating glucocorticoid signaling in the brain.
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April 23, 2012
Penn Medicine researchers are presenting series of studies at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
Click for press release - Encephalitis
Click for press release - Concurrent Neurodegenerative Diseases
Click for press release - ALS
April 20, 2012
In an interview with Discovery Channel’s program "The Daily Planet," David Dinges, PhD, chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology in the Department of Psychiatry, and associate director of the Penn Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology, discusses the consequences of sleep loss and circadian misalignment. Dr. Dinges also spoke with BusinessWeek about power-napping to make up for lost sleep.
Click for article - Discovery Channel
Click for article - BusinessWeek
April 18, 2012
Michael Thase, MD, professor of Psychiatry, was interviewed by MSNBC.com regarding a new study published in Translational Psychiatry, suggesting that a blood test may in the future be a way for doctors to screen children for clinical depression.
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April 18, 2012
Virginia M.-Y Lee, PhD, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is the senior author of a study investigating the way Parkinson's progresses over time.
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April 17, 2012
Gregory Brown, PhD, professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry, has developed an intervention to help prepare patients who are suicidal or have attempted suicide for future crises, WHYY/NPR reports.
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April 17, 2012
Michelle J. Smith, MD, assistant professor of Neurosurgery, discussed arteriovenous malformation in a Philadelphia Inquirer report .
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April 12, 2012
In an interview with Medscape Medical News, Andrew D. Siderowf, MD, MSCE, associate professor of Neurology, discussed a recent study showing that eye tremors may be an early indicator of Parkinson's disease.
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April 12, 2012
Michael Grandner, PhD, research associate at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, was quoted in an ABCNews report on a new study linking lack of sleep to high blood sugar levels and weight gain.
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April 11, 2012
Donald O’Rourke, MD, associate professor of Neurosurgery,
spoke with CNN.com about a study published this week in the journal Cancer which shows that people who have had dental X-rays are more likely to develop a type of brain tumor called meningioma than those who have not.
Click for article
April 9, 2012
Steven Arnold, MD, professor of Neurology and Psychiatry and director of the Penn Memory Center, tells the Philadelphia Inquirer that diabetics are 50 to 100 percent more likely to get the fatal, memory-destroying Alzheimer’s disease.
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April 6, 2012
A consortium of researchers, including study co-author, Gerard Schellenberg, PhD , investigated the genetic nature of autism. Their findings suggest modest roles for hundreds of genes in the development of the disease and pinpoint a few specific genes as genuine risk factors.
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April 3, 2012
The New York Times cited a 2010 study by Steven Berkowitz, MD that reviewed a therapy program, called the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention, which was used to treat traumatized children.
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April 2, 2012
KYW Radio reports that some Philadelphia high schoolers have a better understanding of what it takes to try to cure diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, after a tour of the research labs Friday at the University of Pennsylvania. Students from the Mastery-Shoemaker charter school, along with their mentors from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, toured the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research.
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March 30, 2012
WHYY radio reports that autism costs the US $126 billion each year, according to a new study released by the advocacy organization Autism Speaks, co-authored by David Mandell, ScD, associate director of the Center for Mental Health Policy & Services.
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March 28, 2012
Perelman School of Medicine researchers received a $2 million grant from the NIH to study novel approaches to preventing chronic disease in HIV-positive African-American men. The study, as reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal, will be led by John B. Jemmott, PhD, professor of Communication in Psychiatry.
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March 28, 2012
Felicia Greenfield, LCSW, associate director for Clinical and Research Operations at the Penn Memory Center talks with WHYY's Voices in the Family about the emotional reactions and impact an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis can have on a family.
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March 26, 2012
Insulin resistance in the brain precedes and contributes to cognitive decline above and beyond other known causes of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, including senior author, Steven Arnold, MD, professor of Psychiatry and Neurology.
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March 23, 2012
In an effort to study what foods and/or drinks may help induce slumber, Michael Grandner, PhD, research associate at the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology, found that fat was the main nutrient associated with getting less sleep, according to the Huffington Post.
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March 20, 2012
A new study by Perelman School of Medicine researchers, including senior author David Mandell, ScD, highlights the unique financial burden faced by families of children with autism, an article on MSNBC.com reports.
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March 14, 2012
Investigators from the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) published a study in the Journal of Neuroscience showing that the compound epothilone D (EpoD) is effective in preventing further neurological damage and improving cognitive performance in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
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March 13, 2012
The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has ranked second among the nation's research-oriented medical schools, according to the annual survey by U.S. News & World Report. This marks the 15th consecutive year that the School of Medicine has ranked as one of the top five medical schools in the United States.
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March 12, 2012
Neurosurgeons from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that aggressive treatment of patients with traumatic brain injury improves chances of recovery and reduces long-term care costs, HealthDay news syndicate reports.
The story also ran in U.S. News and World Report, Yahoo, MSN.com and Doctors Lounge.
Click for article
March 9, 2012
In an interview with WHYY/NPR radio, David Dinges, PhD, chief of the Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, commented on
the results of a recent survey of transportation workers, which found that fatigue is common and affects their ability to do their job.
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March 9, 2012
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine and CHOP received a $3.5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to study how to enhance stress resilience in military personnel, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. The interdisciplinary research team conducting the study includes specialists in neurobiology, psychiatry, and biomedical imaging, led by Seema Bhatnagar, PhD, an assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at Penn/ CHOP.
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March 7, 2012
Early, aggressive treatment of patients with severe traumatic brain injury appears to be cost-effective compared with less aggressive approaches, according to Robert Whitmore, MD, resident in Neurosurgery, and colleagues.
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March 6, 2012
Aaron T. Beck, MD, professor emeritus of Psychiatry at Penn, points out multiple levels of displacement in phobias, in a New York Times article about specific phobias.
March 2, 2012
Scientific American and the Huffington Post report on the untold frontier of how the brain transitions out of consciousness and back, including studies led by Max Kelz, MD, assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care.
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March 1, 2012
Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep, according to a new Penn Medicine study
led by Michael Grandner, PhD, research associate at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology. Coverage of the new study was featured on ABCNews.com, BBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, WebMD.com, the Huffington Post, and US News & World Report.
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February 28, 2012
David Mandell, ScD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, was interviewed by the Associated Press in a report on the delay in autism diagnosis in minority children.
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February 24, 2012
Penn Medicine researchers, led by Michael A. Grandner, PhD, analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find out which states had the most sleep disturbances and daytime fatigue. Coverage of the new research is featured in the Huffington Post, US News & World Report and various broadcast outlets across the country.
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February 24, 2012
ABCNews.com features a video interview by C. Neill Epperson, MD, director of the Penn Center for Women’s Behavioral Wellness, discussing the connection between migraines and depression in women.
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February 22, 2012
J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology in Psychiatry and co-director of the Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program, spoke with Prevention magazine about the symptoms of Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
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February 20, 2012
CBS's "60 Minutes" spoke with Michael Thase, MD, a professor of Psychiatry, in a story investigating antidepressants and the placebo effect.
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February 13, 2012
Doug Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and professor of Neurosurgery, spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer about the increase in awareness among the general public of concussions and their lasting impact.
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February 10, 2012
Michael J. Kahana, PhD, a Penn neuroscientist, commented on a study exploring electrical stimulation as an aid to memory, in a New York Times article.
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February 8, 2012
WHYY radio reports on a new survey, led by David Mandell, ScD, associate director, Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research,
that has shed light on the needs for services for the 30,000 children and adults affected by autism in Pennsylvania.
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February 7, 2012
Research by David F. Dinges, PhD,
chief, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, is highlighted in a Wall Street Journal report about sleep research.
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February 7, 2012
The molecular pathway that carries time-of-day signals from the body's internal clock to ultimately guide daily behavior is revealed in a Penn Study, led by Amita Sehgal, PhD, the John Herr Musser Professor of Neuroscience and Co-Director, Penn Medicine Neuroscience Center.
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February 6, 2012
Men's Health spoke with Douglas Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and professor of Neurosurgery, about concussions.
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February 3, 2012
Neurology Reviews covers a study by Penn neurologists, led by Christopher Todd Anderson, MD, which found that social, personal, and medical concerns can help determine whether patients choose or defer surgery for epilepsy.
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February 2, 2012
David Yusko, PhD, clinical director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, commented in a TODAY.com report on
the difficulties women face in reporting an assault and the ongoing traumatic symptoms following an assault.
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February 2, 2012
Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, vice chair of research, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, spoke with ABCNews.com about a study which reports that kids who undergo multiple procedures requiring anesthesia could be at higher risk for developing ADHD later on.
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January 30, 2012
MedpageToday reports on new research from Penn, led by Michael A. Grandner, PhD, research associate at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, that showed difficulty falling or staying asleep or sleeping too much was associated with heightened cardiometabolic risk.
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January 27, 2012
In a MSNBC.com article, Michael Thase, MD, professor of Psychiatry, commented on a new analysis of past studies showing that people with mild depression may benefit from taking antidepressants.
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January 27, 2012
University of Pennsylvania neurosurgeon Casey Halpern, MD was quoted by the Huffington Post in an article describing
"a wireless router for the brain" that allows researchers to control brain cells in mice and other small lab animals.
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January 26, 2012
David Mandell, ScD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, was quoted in an Orlando Sentinel report about a local resident who is autistic and uses running to help manage his symptoms.
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January 24, 2012
Douglas Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and professor of Neurosurgery, spoke with MSNBC.com about kids' ability to recover from traumatic brain injuries.
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January 24, 2012
Marcos Frank, PhD, assistant professor of Neuroscience, comments on SpaMagazine.com about tips for getting a good night's sleep, particularly how sleep affects memory.
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January 23, 2012
The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that branched-chain amino acids — a common nutrient found in small doses in weight training supplements such as Muscle Milk and protein powder — will be looked at as a possible way to treat concussions, or at least speed up the healing process, in a study conducted by Peter LeRoux, MD, FACS.
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January 17, 2012
Michael Perlis, PhD, associate professor of Psychiatry and director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, and James Findley, PhD, senior staff psychologist with the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, were featured experts in an ABC World News Tonight report on the treatment of insomnia.
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January 12, 2012
Henry Kranzler, MD, professor of Psychiatry, was interviewed by Science News regarding a new study showing that alcohol can cause a release of feel-good endorphins in the brain and their effect on humans.
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January 10, 2012
The Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania announces the establishment of the Neuroscience of Behavior Initiative. This new initiative, funded by an anonymous gift, will strengthen Penn programs in basic, translational, clinical, and population research into the areas of addiction, depressive disorders, and neurodegenerative disease.
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January 9, 2012
Scientific American spoke with Leo McCluskey, MD, MBE, an associate professor of neurology and medical director of Penn's ALS Center, to find out more about Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and why it has spared Hawking and his amazing brain.
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January 9, 2012
Medscape Medical News reports on a new study, led by David A. Wolk, MD, which suggests that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure areas of the brain that are involved in Alzheimer’s disease may be a way of detecting the disease at its earliest preclinical stages.
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January 6, 2012
Steven Arnold, MD, Penn Memory Center Director and professor of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, talks with ABC News about normal age-related cognitive decline and the difference from disease-related cognitive impairment.
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January 6, 2012
Virginia MY Lee, PhD, MBA, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, speaks with the Associated Press about the longevity of Steven Hawking, the physicist and cosmologist who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) when he was a 21-year-old.
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January 4, 2012
Tracy Bale, PhD, associate professor of Neuroscience in Psychiatry, spoke with the Orlando Sentinel in an article discussing the role heredity plays in weight gain.
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January 3, 2012
Eric Zager, MD, professor of Neurosurgery, is interviewed by the Delaware News Journal discussing treatment for Moyamoya, a rare neurovascular condition in which the carotid arteries thicken and narrow, restricting and blocking blood flow to the brain.
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